A visit to the Garden 29th October

We have not been able to get out much over the last few weeks so today decided that we would spend a couple of hours enjoying the Garden. It is not a huge garden, but we are lucky enough to have a few small trees and bushes. We also have a small congregation of Starlings and Sparrows that visit us each day for their dinners. Here we can see a little Female House Sparrow patiently waiting for us to top up the peanut feeder


But she was beaten to it by her husband who swooped down to munch on them as soon as we had finished topping it up. The Sparrows like their peanuts and they empty this feeder within a week.


At the back of the garden hanging on the potting shed is another peanut feeder. This one is very popular with the starlings as it is easier for them to get a good foothold and there is often several of them squabbling over the peanuts


Sometimes the feeder becomes so popular that a queue begins to develop along the fence nearby as the Starlings wait for a gap on the feeder so that they can flutter over and enjoy the nuts.


We have a small crab apple tree in the garden that produces pounds and pounds of apples each year that has been used for both delicious apple pies and on one occasion some potent apple cider.. The tree is also host to several more bird feeders containing mixed seeds and kernels. For some reason, the front feeder is the most popular one and always boasts a good collection of Sparrows and Starlings enjoying the seeds. In this picture you can also see one of the lamps that we light when sitting outside during the evenings.


When sitting outside, we also like to light the Chimnea if the evenings become a bit chilly. We can then warm ourselves by the fires cosy glow whilst the ladies enjoy a glass or two of fine wines, whilst we quench our thirsts with a generous tankard or two of ale.


Although there is a chill to the air, the days are still sunny and warm enough for the flowers to lift their heads and open out their pretty petals to show of their lovely pastel colours, made even more vibrant by the low golden sunlight. They look so nice that we just had to show you a selection to enjoy.




We hope that you enjoyed our Garden. More pictures can bee seen in our Galleries at
www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Northward Hill 07th October

We decided on a visit to Northward Hill this weekend. It was another gorgeous sunny day but the wind had a hint of Autumn about it and reminded us that colder days are on the way. Parking the car, we prepared for our walk but a rustling in the nearby trees caught our attention. It was a pretty Great Tit watching us with interest.


We started our walk, enjoying the sights and smells of the late harvest. The shrubs and bushes are still full of the fruits and berries waiting to be picked and savoured but best be quick as they will soon spoil. We will enjoy some of these plump blackberries later, maybe in a tasty pie for our tea.


It was very quiet at Northward Hill and the grassy footpaths had a spring bought back to them from the recent rains. There are still plenty of fungi growing so we stopped to take a picture of some colourful toadstools sitting their like little miniature Mexican hats.


In amongst the fungi the thistles were showing off their thorny crowns, standing proudly erect they beckoned for us to us to take their pictures. We just had to oblige.


You can see how picturesque the walks are here at Northward. The leaves are just starting to turn towards that lovely golden brown and the low sun bathes everything in a soft glow. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable walk.


It was so peaceful and quiet that brother Mick nodded of when he sat down to rest his weary legs. He contested this observation quite vigorously, but we can see that he really was having a nice quiet snooze


At the top of the pathways is a gorgeous view across the pastures. In the distance amongst the grazing sheep is a building that we think may be an old abandoned tin mine. We are not sure on this so would welcome any information that you may have about it


Time was pressing on so we started our way back to go home. Before we left we looked back at the sights of the plump berries standing within the drying grassland and framed by the blue skies and green trees. A truly magical sight.

We hope that you enjoyed our walk today. More pictures from Northward can be found in the nature gallaries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick